From Dusk to Dawn
by ImThatTypeOfGirl
Summary: There was nothing Tripitaka loved more than the sunset. Well, maybe there was ONE thing... Rated T to be safe.
1. Falling

**Oh my god. What is this MONSTER I have posted? Please, forgive me, I think I must have been asleep when I wrote this. GAWD, the CHEESE FACTOR is ASTRONOMICAL. No I'm kidding, it's not that bad, seriously :D Ahhh! No, don't leave! I said I was kidding! Please, just read on to find out for yourself. Ignore these ramblings of a madwoman.**

**Note: Yes, I'm getting round to updating Tainted and suchlike, but I have like seven other stories pining for my attention and this had to be posted and out of the way. Just to prove I'm not dead and I am still writing x**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing ...*sobs***

**P.S - I should probably mention there'll be three parts (chapters, same thing) to this :) Just letting y'all know!**

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_**Chapter 1 – Falling**_

Her fingers got caught on fragments of moss and she could feel the dirt getting trapped underneath her nails, but she didn't care. The stone which she sat upon was cold and slightly damp, giving off a slightly musty smell in the warm evening air. A gentle breeze danced through the sky, playing with the strands of vibrant red hair that had escaped from in her bun and under her hair band. She smiled and brushed them out of her face, closing her eyelids to let the wind cool their heated surface. Upon re-opening, she took in the most magnificent sunset she had probably ever seen.

What felt like a million miles below was a large mess of ruined buildings and forest, and beyond that was the edge of the ocean. It looked vast and endless, tainted a glittering orange by the setting sun. The sun itself peeked out over the water, hiding almost completely behind the line of the horizon. Wispy streaks of cloud were scattered across the honey-gold sky, patterned with soft smudges of dull red and pink.

Tripitaka sighed contentedly, her body language also betraying just how relaxed she was. Resting her body weight on the left-hand side of her hip, she had one leg tucked underneath her at a right angle and the other upright, propping up her arm. Her left hand was placed behind her to balance her position also. With her fingers she could feel the hard stone of the skyscraper underneath her, solid and unyielding.

The air had a sweet smell to it; she found it hard to distinguish whether it was flowers or fruit. She had passed an orchard on the way over here – or what was left of it, anyway. Running a hand over her hair she got to her feet, closing her eyes and stretching upwards with her arms. Relishing in the feeling of her muscles uncoiling from the position they'd been jammed into, she breathed out and let a small smile grace her lips.

Allowing her arms fall down to her sides, she turned in time to see Monkey emerge from the roof hatch, muttering curses under his breath as he slammed the metal behind him. He strode over and sat down; his legs were crossed and he leaned back on his elbows for support. Trip raised an eyebrow and made her way over, joining him on the cool stone where she'd sat only moments ago.

"What's wrong?" she asked, taking in his marginally bedraggled appearance, the slight sheen of sweat running across his skin.

He sighed and scraped a hand through his hair, sitting up. "I just thought that after all of this, something would finally happen. It wouldn't be so…"

Trip stared at him for several moments, waiting for him to finish of his sentence. "So…_what_?" she prompted, when he remained silent.

"Nothing," he muttered, glancing away. "Never mind."

"Hey, you can tell me, right?" she said gently. Laying a hand on his arm, she felt a jolt of electricity crackle through her body upon registering his warmth soak into her palm. "Right, Monkey?"

He looked up, a roguish smile tugging at his lips. "All right, Trip. Spill it. Why're we up here?"

The question caught her off balance but she quickly righted herself. Feigning innocence, she answered: "What do you mean?" in the most convincing tone she could muster.

"Y' don't just drag someone up one of the tallest standing 'scrapers for nothing," he said, getting to his feet and watching as she followed suit. "Not even to watch the sunset."

He knew? She was genuinely surprised; she hadn't told him how much she loved the setting sun, had she? She quickly ran back over all their conversations, all the nights they'd stayed up late talking until the dawn broke over the hills. All the hurried words shoved out just to get them in the air before they were lost in the mess of their minds. No, she had definitely not told him how much she loved the end of the day, how much she loved watching the sun disappear and the night ride in.

Her surprise was noted and Monkey grinned. Ever since Pyramid fell they no longer hid from each other, covering up emotions was pointless when they had spent so much time together, seen the world through each other's eyes. It took a long time, but Trip managed to get Monkey to open up about his past…some days she really wished she hadn't tried in the first place. There were reasons he'd kept it buried – _very_ good reasons, she might add. And even after everything, they still could have gone separate ways, bade a fond farewell and never seen one another again for the rest of their lives.

But they stayed, like this skyscraper, unbreakable and resolute. A friendship forged through sweat and blood, through wind and fire, through death and betrayal. A friendship, forged at the end of the world…that had turned into so much more.

"C'mon, don't bullshit me, Trip," Monkey growled, but she could hear the playful undertone to his words.

"I didn't know you knew," she said, smiling faintly as she moved closer to him, locking her arms around his waist.

"Knew what?" he asked, slightly confused. His hands rested comfortably in the small of her back, his huge form almost enveloping her slender figure entirely.

She laughed, pecking his cheek. "That I love the sunset!"

"Y' do?"

She punched him in the shoulder. "Stop it; don't tease."

He removed his arms from around her waist and held them up in surrender, taking a few steps back. "I wasn't, promise."

Trip sighed, her lips curving up into a wide grin. "No, I didn't bring you up here for the sunset." The wastelander looked at her quizzically as she continued. "I designed something to get us around…a bit faster." Moving over to a pile of seemingly useless, rusting metal, Trip hauled out an iron frame in a vague V-shape, with thick, PVC-like material covering the 'wings'. A heavy wooden bar hung down from the nose of the V-shaped framework, and despite the fact it all looked very secure, Monkey eyed the contraption with growing doubt.

"Uh…what_ is_ it?"

"Well," she huffed, dragging the metal V over to the edge of the skyscraper. "I found some blueprints in this old building, and they looked pretty good, so I thought 'Why not?', y'know? It only took a while to put together but I'm thinking I can make it more self-sustainable…"

He nodded inconclusively. "So…what does it _do_, Trip?"

She grinned and curled a finger toward him. "C'mere and I'll show you."

Monkey moved over, somewhat nervously, and Trip sighed. "It won't bite! Okay, good: now, put your arms 'round me."

"Like it better already," he grinned, his breath tickling her ear. She blushed furiously, thankful he couldn't see her face.

"You holding on tight?" she asked, and felt his chin bounce up and down on her shoulder in a nod. "Good."

She picked up the metal V and gripped the wooden bar hanging down at the front. The whole structure rested above them, surprisingly light, enabling Trip to hold it upright. Taking a few steps back to prepare them, she began running forward. At this, Monkey gave a start. _What the hell is she __**doing**__…? Uh, the edge of the building is getting kinda close…_

Tripitaka's feet found the end of the roof and, without a second thought, she pushed off into the sky. Immediately the wind caught under the PVC-like wing plastic, lifting the frame of the metal V into the air. Behind her, she could feel Monkey's heart thudding against her shoulder blade, and she laughed. They glided through the sky like a massive iron bird, sailing along the wind currents like they were water.

"Did you get a fright?" she asked, grinning.

"Could a' warned me," he grunted, and she laughed again.

From up here they could see out across the ocean, see the dying rays of the sun reflecting off of the water and making it glitter in the fading light. Below them the forest stood, several ruined buildings overgrown with creepers poking out of the emerald foliage. Up in the evening air there was a certain feeling of weightlessness, of freedom. Merely detaching one's self from the ground, defying the earth and catching the wind was a freedom in itself.

But just as the moment so quickly came, it passed. They could have stayed up here forever and watched the world go by, but the wind had other ideas. It swirled suddenly about them, ensnaring itself under the flaps of the wings, pulling the craft higher in the air until it was near-vertical – and still climbing.

"Trip!" shouted Monkey over the rustling of their clothes and the frame's creaks and groans.

"I – I can't get it down!" she breathed. "Oh _shi – _"

And with all the urgency it had arrived with, the updraft left. Very suddenly, everything went quiet, and they seemed to hang suspended in the warm evening air.

Then they began to descend.

The craft folded back on itself, tumbling out of the sky like raindrops in a storm. It spun wildly; unable to find a current strong enough to pull it back on course. Trip and Monkey held onto the wooden handle for dear life as they plummeted downwards toward the forest below. The air rushed past the metal framework, screeching as it got tangled in the iron of the wings, ripping apart the PVC plastic in an attempt to escape.

Trip closed her eyes and braced for the _crunch_ of the impact that was sure to come. She whispered a silent goodbye to Monkey, who had wound his arms so tightly around her she could barely breathe. She could feel herself screaming and screaming but no actual sound came out of her mouth. Or maybe there _was_ a sound, but it was torn away into the sky by the air rushing past her before Trip herself could hear it.

The next thing she heard was Monkeys voice in her ear, a low, gentle murmur. "Trip, it's alright. Y' can open your eyes."

She shook her head. "I'm afraid that if I do I'll be dead. _Are_ we…dead?"

He chuckled softly. "C'mon, let's get down."

When she finally plucked up enough courage to do as he suggested, she was met with a beautiful view of a deep green forest, thick with foliage. A small, leafy clearing surrounded her, the trees here patterned in different colours of blooming flowers. Her fingers were practically welded onto the wooden beam, her knuckles burned white. She felt Monkey drop down onto the forest floor, and then called out for her to follow. Looking up, she noticed that the craft she'd built had got snagged on an extended branch of an old, gnarled tree. The metal was torn to bits and the plastic material over the wings was shredded – but at least they had survived, and that was the most important thing right now.

Breathing out, she let her hands loosen from the wooden rail and then her body drop into Monkey's waiting arms. Wrapped in his warm embrace, pressed tightly against his skin, she felt so safe and secure. Nothing could hurt her here, not when she had Monkey. Looking up into his face, she traced the faint line near his temples with her finger that the Slave Headband had left behind, wincing as he exhaled at her touch.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, guilt welling up inside her as she saw it again.

"For what, the crash?" he joked, but his eyes held no mirth. He knew what she was referring to.

They stayed like that for a moment, reliving memories that neither needed to say out loud. They didn't have to; the events were mirrored in each other's eyes. The forest was silent and warm, the evening air trapped under the thick canopy of leaves above their heads. Eventually Trip broke eye contact and studied the forest around them.

"It'll take us ages to find our way out of here," she muttered, sighing. "We should get a head start before the nights sets in."

"Y' sure?" asked Monkey, his voice deep and husky.

Still wrapped in his arms, she titled her head to look at him. "What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"Well," he said, dipping his head to taste the salt lingering on the soft curves of her lips. "There's always tomorrow."

"Right," said Trip, slightly breathless after his sudden kiss. Recovering, she leaned forwards and slipped her arms around his neck. He kissed her again and then moved downward, his mouth finding the line of her jaw and working his way down her neck to her collarbone. Returning the affection, she laughed quietly, and murmured in his ear: "Yes. There's always tomorrow."


	2. Landing

**The second chapter, yaaay! God, I spent ages on this story. Anyway, please leave a comment let me know what you think! It's appreciated, I assure you x**

**Disclaimer: Enslaved is not mine, obviously. **

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_**Chapter 2 – Landing**_

They awoke to the sound of chattering insects, buzzing about in the air and weaving through the plant life. They had fallen asleep together in the centre of the clearing, still wrapped in one another's arms when they'd drifted off. The heavy sent of pollen lingered in the air - presumably from the large flowers lining the edge of the area, growing out of the trees and shrubs at strange angles as they reached upwards for the smatters of sunlight that had managed to penetrate the dense canopy above.

Tripitaka's eyes fluttered open, the forest blurry and smudgy because of the sleep still lingering in her sight. She could feel Monkey's arms around her, the gentle rise and fall of his chest against her back. He stirred shortly after her, yawning loudly before helping her to her feet. They made their way through the forest, passing the long-since abandoned ruins of heavy stone buildings, as they searched for a way out. The thick foliage seemed dark and unending, and Trip was beginning to feel tired as the sun slid across the sky. When they finally stopped to rest, she collapsed gratefully onto the nearest patch of soft grass and breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Tired?" Monkey asked, grinning.

"It's warm down here," she commented. "And this place is like a maze. How are we supposed to find our way out?"

Trip waited for an answer, but Monkey stayed silent. Not wanting to listen to the constant buzz of insects, she attempted to regain control of the conversation.

"Will you tell me now?"

He frowned. "Tell y' what?"

"You started telling me something," she said slowly. "Yesterday. After everything we've done, you hoped it wouldn't be so…?"

He sighed, and she knew he remembered. But what he said still came as a shock.

"I hoped it wouldn't be so lonely."

She didn't answer for a moment. Did he mean that he was tiring of her company? "Lonely?" she asked, her voice small.

He gestured to the forest around them. "This is never gonna fix itself, is it? Not even after we took out Pyramid, not even after we freed all those people. A long time ago, folks used to tell me stories of_ before_. It sounded…incredible."

Tripitaka was enthralled. She knew very little of what this place was like before, well…before _this_. But what could Monkey tell her? "Go on," she said, but it came out in a whisper. He stopped for a moment, looked at her, and then nodded.

"I'd hear rumours," Monkey said quietly, "Of what this place used to be like. Used to have massive cities, people in charge to make sure everything went smooth as possible. Folk's had jobs, families, lives. No mechs, no slaves. The buildings would reach up into the sky, bright and bustling with life." His eyes flickered to the ruins of stonework, peeking out of the foliage that surrounded them. "Everything was clean and there were roads everywhere. The people I'd talked to, who'd told me about all this, got it from the 'Oldies', the folk's who'd survived…well, just _survived_."

Tripitaka's breath caught in her throat. She was hanging on every word, eyes wide with wonder. Monkey looked up at her, his expression soft, and then turned his head away. As he spoke she could see his mouth settling into a grim line, and his eyes glittering in the fading light.

"They said it was amazing, Trip."

For a moment she couldn't move, just letting the words roll over her like storm clouds across the sky. What he was saying was completely impossible; she'd grown up in these mech-infested lands and lived here her whole life! And yet…she believed him. She _wanted_ to believe him. The world he spoke of, supposedly the world before their own, did indeed sound amazing. Why hadn't he told her all of this earlier? What she wouldn't give to see it with her own eyes! But when she looked up to share her awe with him he was still avoiding her gaze, lids firmly shut and head turned away to the right. She shuffled towards him on her hands and knees, worried.

"Monkey?" she said, her voice low. "Monkey? Are you alright?"

"Fine," he muttered, getting to his feet and helping her up after him. "I'm fine."

They walked for the rest of the day in silence, only speaking to one another to offer words of warning along the overgrown paths. Tripitaka couldn't help but feel responsible for his despondency; she had, after all, asked him to tell the story, but had not considered what other memories would be dragged up along with it. She would have apologised but she knew it wouldn't make a difference; even if he knew she didn't mean it, it wouldn't change how he was feeling.

Breathing a sigh, Trip moved ahead of Monkey and pushed her way through a mess of creepers, their sharp thorns scoring her arms and bursting the surface layer of skin. Hissing, she ignored the stinging sensation and wiped the blood off onto her shirt. Pressing forward, she emerged from the trees into an open clearing. Apart from a massive slab of crumbling stone half-buried in vegetation to her left, the area was empty. Heaving a sigh at yet another useless glimpse of escape, Trip made to cross the clearing and push through the bushes on the far side.

But she didn't. Because from out behind the lonely slab of stone emerged a heavily-armoured combat mech, standing upright on two thick iron-clad legs…and looking directly at her with lamplight yellow eyes. She didn't even have enough time to choke out a scream before it had blundered across the grass and seized her in its talon-like arms. She writhed in its grasp, the cold, sharp metal of its forearm cutting deep into her sides. She felt the pain explode in her ribs just as she managed to let out a strangled cry for help.

"_Monkey!_"

Out of the corner of her eye she saw him appear out of the trees to her right, jaw clenched tight. Squeezing her eyes shut, she screamed, feeling the mech's arm-blades slicing into her waist. It was all she could do to shout his name out, over and over, so deep in agony she couldn't reach for her EMP blaster to get this thing the hell away from her.

That was when she heard the harsh _snap _of broken metal, felt the mech buckle and shake as Monkey's staff slammed into its back. It desperately tried to hold onto her, but after another blow from Monkey's staff – this time to its lower legs – it gave up, throwing her onto the ground on its left. Trip bounced when she hit the earth, rolling sideways until her body cracked against one of the trees lining the edge of the clearing.

Lying very still in the long grass at the base of the trunks, Trip could feel every muscle spasming in agony, could feel the injuries to her sides oozing warm blood across her skin, could feel it slowly soaking into the material of her top. She was vaguely aware of Monkey battling the mech somewhere in the centre of the clearing but her eyesight was blurring and she could barely stay awake long enough to watch his staff smash through the machine's face and the remaining metal clatter to the ground. Darkness flooded her vision just as Monkey's worried expression swam into view. Blackness overtook her shortly after.

The dizziness came first, like a heavy nausea without the actual urge to throw up. Sweat beaded across her forehead, dripping down the sides of her face into the soft fabric of her hair band. The intense pain in her ribs was so sore it only felt like a dull ache, throbbing against her skin.

Moaning, her eyes fluttered open, and immediately Monkey's face appeared in her view. His brows were furrowed together with concern and he had a long horizontal slash across his left cheek that was still wet with blood. She tried to lift her hand to wipe it away but they wouldn't move.

"Monkey?" she croaked, feeling her dry throat scratch against his name.

"Hey," he forced a grin. "Y' look like shit, Trip."

She rolled her eyes, feeling a gentle beat at her temples as she did so. "Thanks," she muttered, eyelids feeling heavy.

"Hey, no, you can't go back to sleep," Monkey said, gently but firmly shaking her shoulder. Immediately a jolt of pain shot through her and she groaned, shying away from his touch. He cursed under his breath and disappeared from her vision, allowing her a clear, unobstructed view of the patch of sky that was visible above her head. Between the branches of the trees she could see a deep, velvety blue blanket, sprinkled with tiny winking stars that glittered like jewels in the darkness. She sighed at the sight. It had been a long time since she'd stuck around to see the sky after dusk.

It took several moments for her to register that there was a fire crackling warmly somewhere nearby. Tilting her head slightly to the right, she caught a glimpse of hungry red flames snapping at the air, shadows flickering across tree trunks and creating strange patterns on the wood.

How long had she been unconscious? So long that night had fallen, so long that Monkey'd had to start a fire to keep the darkness at bay. At least three hours, maybe more. How severe were her injuries? She was suddenly very aware she hadn't eaten in a long time, and her stomach growled in protest. Lying flat on her back, she began to feel the pain in her sides ease slightly - just as Monkey made his way over with a health pack in his hands.

"Y' alright?" he asked.

She nodded gently. "Better."

When dawn finally came Tripitaka was able to limp to her feet, arms wrapped round her still-aching sides. Despite the fact she could walk (albeit, not very fast), Monkey insisted on carrying her in his arms while they moved. Her protests fell on deaf ears as he walked through the trees. Eventually Trip fell silent and let her head rest on the muscled bulge of his chest, his steady heartbeat thumping against her ear.

"They got you good, this time, Trip," Monkey said, breaking the still. His voice was thick with emotion.

Trip closed her eyes. "I know."


	3. Flying

**A/N: Yaaay! Final chapter! I really hope y'all like :) Worked hard on this story, please leave a review to let me know what you think ;)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing *sighs***

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_**Chapter 3 – Flying**_

During the long journey through the forest, it was the stories that Monkey had told her that kept Tripitaka sane. Every day, when they'd pass identical patches of bushes and trees and crumbling stone, she'd imagine what this place used to look like before now. She was far too young to have been there, but she'd heard of the war that had taken place here well over a hundred years ago - the reason there were mechs, she'd also heard. But the tales that Monkey had told...she couldn't help but dream of the world he'd spoken of, the world that came before.

The ruins of building that they passed turned into houses and workplaces seething with life, the small clearings of grass and flowers turned into parks and gardens home to playing children. Wrapped in Monkey's arms, these were the things that Tripitaka saw along the way. She'd thought mistakenly that all of her expeditions were over now. But this forest was huge and seemingly infinite. Would they ever find a way out?

She looked up at Monkey, the strong line of his jaw, the hard determination in his eyes. He'd helped her along the last journey, and now here he was, helping her on the next. She owed him so much, and yet he refused to let her pay any of it back. Laying a hand against his chest, she felt the thump of his heartbeat jump between her fingers. She leant up and kissed his cheek, and a slight smile titled his mouth upwards to indicate he hadn't minded.

After the incident with the mech, Monkey refused to let her out of his sight. When she complained, he shook his head firmly and said: "No, Trip. I'm not gonna lose y' again." And that was that.

She slept through most of the day and talked with Monkey for a large portion of the night. After three days of rest and a couple dozen health packs, Trip's sides had healed enough that Monkey let her walk on her own, but kept a close watch on her to make sure she was okay. They often found fruits to eat, growing up in the tallest of the trees, and discovered small springs from which to drink. For a week, they survived merely on what the forest provided.

But hadn't they always done that? Simply survived, for _so long_. Just the two of them, in a world so torn by hate and war it was barely even recognisable anymore. Tripitaka and Monkey: bound by fate, destiny or whatever Gods were left. Bound by friendship, love, and the memories they shared. They were always meant to find each other on that slave ship, they were always meant to go on that journey, and, like it or not, Tripitaka was always going to enslave Monkey. The goddamned Headband that had started all of this, lost now, after Trip had thrown it away.

On the eighth day, Monkey sighed and turned to face her, eyes hard.

"We're getting nowhere fast."

Trip raised an eyebrow. "You don't say."

Rolling his eyes, Monkey caught her around the waist and threw her across his back. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his midriff, holding on tight as he broke into a sprint. Despite the fact his actions had been rough and sudden, she felt a rush of familiarity wash over her and pressed her cheek to the skin of his shoulder, just to feel his muscles working furiously as he ran. They'd done this a thousand times before...and she missed it. The first time she'd been afraid of him, wary when he'd told her he'd carry her over the uneven terrain. The first time she hadn't known what to do, how to feel. But now it was comfortable and easy, and she sighed contently.

She must have fallen asleep as some point along the journey, because she was jerked awake by Monkey's abrupt halt. Her head was wrenched back and then slammed forward into his neck, and she began complaining bitterly about the muscle that had just been pulled before he put up a hand to silence her. Rubbing her shoulder with one hand, she glanced over his to see exactly what had made him stop.

That was just it. There was nothing there.

"What is it?" she whispered in his ear, straining hard to catch a glimpse of glowing mech eyes in the gloom.

"Don't y' see?" he replied, carefully letting her slide from his back to plant her feet firmly on the soil. "It's the end of the forest, Trip. We got out."

Suddenly her heartbeat sped up and a wide grin spread across her face. Now she was paying attention, she saw that the trees ended here, stood next to them like soldiers facing the battlefield. Before them were grassy slopes, rough and speckled with large boulders. A sky – a deep, royal purple – faded into pink the further away from them it got. If she looked to her left she could see the base of the skyscraper they'd leapt from, a mess of vines and moss near-obscuring the stonework. She caught a faint smell of rotting fruit on the wind – probably that orchard she'd passed by on the way to meet Monkey.

Speaking of which, the wastelander had walked quite a few feet forward and spread his arms wide. He was grinning from ear to ear when he turned to face her.

"We got _out_, Trip," he repeated.

Trip couldn't help but laugh. "We did. We made it."

Trip didn't even realise she was running towards Monkey until she felt his arms around her waist, lifting her up in the air and then down again into a warm embrace. She hardly even noticed she was crying. But Trip didn't care; she could feel the laugh bubbling up in her throat, a warm, fizzy feeling stirring in her chest as they did so. Monkey sat her down on solid ground again and bent forward so they were eye-level, a pleasantly confused frown on his face.

"Hey," he started, brushing the remaining water off of her cheeks with his enormous hands. "Why the tears?"

"I…don't really know," she said, the odd giggle escaping her lips. Really, why was she this emotional? She usually kept her feelings better hidden than this. "I'm just…happy to be out, I guess."

He smiled. "Yeah, me too."

And in that moment she knew she had to say it. Say the words that she knew she was too nervous, or shy, to say. She'd rehearsed them in her head for so long, and the timing was perfect. But her lips. Wouldn't. Move. So instead, as he led her up the hill by a very gentle hand around her wrist, she said them in her head. No, she didn't merely speak them. She screamed them, cried out to him in the vain hope he'd hear them amidst the chaos of her thoughts.

_I'm __**so**__ sorry. I'm sorry for enslaving you, I'm sorry we had to go all that way to stop this, I'm sorry you couldn't save the ones you loved. I'm sorry you had to put up with me and Pigsy, I'm sorry I didn't do more to help you, I'm sorry I wasted all that time we had together. But most of all, I'm sorry I didn't take that headband off of you sooner, I didn't __**make**__ myself take it off you sooner. And I love you. I love you, Monkey, I love you. I'm in love with you. Because now the world has slowed and we're just two tiny specks on the surface of something so gigantic and wasted, I can say this. I can tell you now, because it doesn't seem so huge. Because before, I was scared._

But she didn't manage to say a word of it. Not one word, not even as they stood atop the slope and watched the sun rise above a sparkling cerulean sea to their right. Not even when Monkey wrapped his arms around her and the smell of their skin mingled together as they held one another. Not even when he kissed her cheek, and she nestled her head in the crook of his shoulder and gazed at the sunlight turning his back a warm gold.

But luckily she didn't need to be brave that day, because someone else was there to do that for her – someone else who was feeling the same things she was.

"I love y', Trip."

Her heartbeat thumped heavily against his own.

"I know," she whispered in return, barely managing to breathe out the words. "And…I love you."

And as the sunlight spilled over the ocean and began lighting the trees a strange, murky yellow, Monkey laughed gently. She felt his breath against her ear, and smiled. Looking back on that moment, Tripitaka decided that, in fact, she loved the sun_rise_ as much as the sun_set_. Or perhaps even more. If the dawn brought her these kinds of feelings, this kind of love…it outstripped dusk by several hundred years.

Monkey's rough voice brought her back to reality, his tone slightly teasing.

"Good thing y' built that glider, wasn't it?" he murmured. "I mean, it wasn't exactly one of your best ideas, but it worked."

"No," she answered, an unrivalled, golden laughter bursting from her lips. When it ceased, she buried her face in Monkey's shoulder and felt her heartbeat steady itself against his skin. With a smothered chuckle, she whispered: "No, it was _the_ best. That gilder brought me something much better than anyone will ever know."

And suddenly the stories of the world before jumped to Tripitaka's mind. If there really had been a place here, like the one Monkey had spoken of, would they still have met? Would they still have fallen in love through utterly unforeseen circumstances? Perhaps…and perhaps not. What mattered was the here and the now. Suddenly she realised she didn't care about this world of the past. Even if it had been beautiful and controlled and amazing, she didn't want it. If she risked everything for a life back then, she might not have what she had now. And what she had now…well, it was even better than flying. In fact, it was more like falling. A rush of adrenaline and excitement and weightlessness and it never ended.

Tripitaka reached upwards with her arms and ran her fingers through Monkey's thick blond hair. She could feel him squeeze her tighter as she did so, and smiled. Because when they finally came to the inevitable 'landing' part of the fall, at least he would be there with her when they hit the ground.


End file.
